Hello [firstname],

FFDO Stakeholder Meeting

1st QTR 2026

Held at LAX FAMS Field Office

The first quarter stakeholder meeting was held on 15 Jan 2026 in Los Angeles, CA.

FFDOA leadership along with the TSA Branch Manager for the Aviation Programs Branch, Daniel Kuhn, attended.

Many topics were covered including mission counts, current FFDO active force, training numbers, FFDO program budget and incidents.

Couple of highlights:

- There was an ammunition supply issue which required the program to temporarily suspend issuing practice ammunition to some FFDOs who qualified in the first quarter of FY26. This has been remedied and the program expects to begin issuing practice ammo once again in February.

- The program asked the associations to once again emphasize the importance of ensuring that FFDOs are not inadvertently transporting their equipment to any non-approved international destination. There have already been 2 incidents in CY26! This severely hampers the program's ability to expand our international footprint and secure agreements with other nations. As of the meeting, the program is in negotiations with 22 nations for potential FFDO agreements.

- The Atlanta Recurrent Training facility is progressing to full capacity, which should happen in the next month. This will allow up to 48 training slots per week to increase the FFDOs ability to schedule and attend training. This is an initiative we have been working on with the program for several years, and will be a great option for FFDOs to accomplish their required training in the future.

- Another huge initiative we have been advocating for, moving initial training from Artesia, NM to the FAMS training facility in Atlantic City, NJ, is progressing. The program expects to have a prototype class in 2026 which is the first step to gaining the necessary approvals for full relocation. More to come on this, but we are pleased to see this moving in a positive direction.

- The program will once again conduct a comprehensive review of all training events (initial, requalification, and recurrent) in 2026 to evaluate program metrics and completion standards, to include our course of fire.

- Lastly, the expansion to a recurrent training facility on the west coast remains high on our list of priorities and we will keep pursuing that with the program and through our legislative contacts.

SEMPER VIGILANS!

Bill Cason
President
FFDOA